E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi – His Life & TimesChapter XXVGandhi's FamiliesWHEN he passed through the prison gates, Gandhi left behind him a country fullof perplexed politicians and an ashram full of two unhappy families: hispersonal family and his adopted family of secretaries, disciples, devotees andhangers-on. All of them, including Kasturbai, now called him Father, 'Bapu', or'Bapuji', the ji connoting a Hindi mixture of respect and tenderness. Hereceived and gave a great deal of love.Love made him indulgent. For himself, he had an extremely strict code ofconduct. With others he was tolerant. 'Do not be frightened by the wideimplications of these views of mine,' he wrote to the women of the ashram.'There are always two meanings to everything—one wider and the othernarrower. We shall not be put out if you understand the wider implications butstart with the narrower.'From young manhood, he was sweet and kind towards everybody except hiswife and sons. A tension marred his early relations with Kasturbai, butgradually it waned and he was able to relax with her too. For instance, theyfrequently joked about their age; they were born six months apart but theywere not quite certain who was younger and he would claim that he was andshe that she was. Gradually as lust, in Gandhi's words, yielded to love, theybecame a model couple, she the acme of service, he a paragon consideration.'Ba', the Mahatma said, referring to Kasturbai, 'takes tea in spite of the factthat she lives with me. She also takes coffee. I would even lovingly prepare itfor her.' Tea and coffee-drinking were rather sinful in Gandhi's eyes. Ba, inother words, retained her personality; yet she attained a high degree of selfeffacement.She never behaved like Mrs. Gandhi, never asked privileges forherself, never shirked the hardest work, and never seemed to notice the smallgroup of young or middle-aged female disciples who interposed themselvesbetween her and her illustrious husband. Being herself and being at the sametime a shadow of Mahatma made her a remarkable woman, and some whowww.mkgandhi.org Page 233